Smelting-furnace.



B. RIVEROLL.

SMELTING PURNAGE.

APPLIoATIoN FILED Nav. 5, 1912.

Patented July 28, 1914.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. RIVBROLL SMELTING FUBNAGE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 5, 1912.

1,105,001. Patented July 28, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ELFEGO RIVEROLL, F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

SMELTING-FURNACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 28, 1914.

Application ied November 5, 1912. serial No. 729,676.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known 'that -I, ELFEGO RrvnRonL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Smelting-Furnace, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to smelting iron or other metals and the main Aobject of the invention is to provide a furnace in which the orecan be melted and reduced in the same furnace.

A further object of the invention is to provide a furnace in which the ore can be deoxidized to the metallic state and carbonized if necessary in the same furnace.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ore smelting furnace adapted for using liquid hydrocarbon as a fuel and reducing agent.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention, yand referring thereto:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section ofthe furnace. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line @c2- m2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectionon line :v3-x3 in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section on line :v4- m4 in Fig, 1.

The furnace comprises a tubular body or chamber of suitable` refractory material, such as masonry lined with fire brick, said body comprising a combustion chamber 1, for generating the necessary heat, a chute 2 for containing the ore to be smelted,`and a Crucible 3 intermediate said combustion chamber and chute. The chute onore cha-Inber 2 is inclined upwardly from the crucible portion and is connected to a stack or chimney 4 at its upper end. The lower portion 5 of the chute islinclined at a smaller angle to the horizontal than the upper portion of the chute, so as to arrest the downward movement ofthe orel in the manner hereinafter described. A water jacket 6 may tapering in width from the widest portion to the lower end of meltingchamber 5.

The crucible 3 is preferably removable from the body of the furnace, the side walls of the crucible being adapted to fit underneath the side walls 8 surrounding an opening 9 in the bottom of the furnace chamber between the chambers 1 and 5. Said crucible is formed of suitable refractory material, for example, tire brick, and lined, if necessary with bauxite or similar material indicated at 10, and is provided with an outer shell or casing 11 of sheet metal. Said crucible may be held in position by adjustable supports or jackslB, and is provided with tap hole 14 and peep hole 14.

One or more oil burners 15 are provided for the combustion chamber 1, said oil burners being supplied with oil supply pipe 18, steam supply pipe 19 and air supply pipe 20, whereby a jet of atomized oil is forced into the combustion chamber land supplied with air for combustion. Means are also kprovided for furnishing a blast of atomized oil, together with an elastic atomizing medium, to the Crucible, said oil being supplied `through a pipe 22 to nozzle 23 and air being supplied to said nozzles through a pipe 25` communicating with an air tank 26 or other means for supplying air at considerable pressure, so as to force the oil, together with air into the crucible in the manner hereinafter set forth. The nozzles 23 for supplying oil and air` are preferablyv located at or near the bottom of the crucible and extendiv` through the side walls thereof, so as to deliver the jets of atomized oil into the crucible adjacent the bottom thereof.

An auxiliary oil burner 28 is shown in the chute, said burner opening, for example, into the chute, at or about the lower end of the more steeply inclined portion thereof. 29 and 30 designate respectively the oil and steam supply pipes for the burner 28. This burner may be omitted in case the ore is of such character as not to require any such auxiliary burner. Peep holes 32 and 33 may be provided in the front end of the furnace for permitting inspection respectively of the crucible and of the combustion and melting chambers.

' The operation of the apparatus is as follows: Ore is supplied to thechute `2 through the stack 4, a platform 34 or other suitable ore feeding means being provided at the top of the stack, whereby the stack and chute may be kept charged with ore as the operation proceeds. The oil burners l5 in the combustion chamber being set in operation, combustion proceeds in said chamber, the products of combustion passing over the Crucible and into the melting chamber 5 and up through the chute 2 and stack 4. The ore is supplied to the furnace in sufficiently large pieces to enable the products of combustion to be forced through said ore by reason of the pressure produced by the 'forced draft at the oil burners. The high temperature thus produced in the ore causes the ore, by the time it reaches the lower end of the chute to be melted, the less steeplyIinclined floor portion 5 of the meltinv chamber' 5 arresting the downward movement of the charge of ore as long as it is in solid condition, but allowing the melted ore to run on from the pile or charge, such melted ore running down the inclined floor portion 5 into the Crucible 3 and being retained in melted condition in said Crucible by the heat of the flames passing'thereover. As soon as the liqueiied ore begins to run into the crucible, the blast is turned on at nozzles 23 so as to keep said nozzles clear, the 4oil being forced into the body ofliquefied ore in the crucible from said nozzles 23 and on contact with the heated liquefied ore, the oil is decomposed, the resulting gases and carbon reacting with the ore as a reducing agent. I have found it desirable to use air as an atomizing and forcingy agent for the oil, not only for the reason that it distributes the oil more fully throughout the body of liquefied ore, but for the reason that when the oil is introduced to ether with air in this manner, it is more e ective in t-he reduction of metal.

The above described operation is especially adanteu for reduction of iron ores and provides for utilization of petroleum or liquid hydrocarbons in the smelting and reduction of such ores. It has been found to be a matter of great difficulty to smelt and reduce iron ores by liquid hydrocarbons, mainly on account of the absence of solid carbon forming a support for the charge during the smelting operation. By using a furnace of the type herein shown, it is possible to melt the ore, but it has heretofore been found a matter of great diiiculty to bring the oil or reducing agent generated therefrom in such contact with the ore as to effect. the reduction. This contact and distribution of the reducing agent through the ore is effected in the above described operation by forcing such agent through the body of liquefied ore.

In the treatment of iron;- orethe chemical operations taking place@ `in the furnace may be described as follows: In descending in the stack the iron-ore tc'gether with the,

iux therefor, for example, limestone, is heated by the hot gases passing through the same and this heating operation continues in the upper part of the chute. If the ore is of a suld nature, roasting may be effected 4concurrently with the heating by furnishing suflicient air to the combustion chamber. As the ore anproaches the lower part of the chute, additional heating `effect and a preliminary reducing eiect may be secured by operating the auxiliary oil burner 2S. As the ore reaches the lower part of the chute it is subjected to the full intensity of the heat of the furnace and is thereby melted, this operation being aided by use of the flux. The melted ore runs into the Crucible forming a liquid body of iron oxid, covered with a layer of slag and through this liquid body of iron oxid there is forced from the nozzles 23 sufficient oil, together with the elastic injecting medium to e`ect the reduction of the iron oxid to metallic iron and as stated, I have found it desirable to supply air, together with the oil, as the reduction action then takes place more effectively than with oil alone, it being understood, however, that the amount of carbon supplied by the oil is in excess of carbon so supplied being determined by the duration of the oil supplv after the reduction is completed.- If desired, however, the liquid metallic iron may be tapped oif from the crucible as soon as it is fully reduced and without carbonization. Instead of using air as the injecting medium for the oil, steam or other elastic fluid may be used. I have found it necessary to maintain the reducing action on the body of liquefied ore for a considerable timef The reducing action is highly exothermic and cannot be pushed too rapidly without overheating of the furnace. For both mechanical and chemical reasons therefore, it is necessary to carry out the reducing operation slowly and maintain the reducing agent in contact with the body of liquefied ore for a considerable time. The downward convergence of the side walls of the meltin chamber 5 is of advantage in forming ad itional support and holding back the charge -until it is melted and the widening of the chute at the upper portion of the melting chamber is desirable in that it retains a large body of ore in position to receive the heat from the combustion chamber.

What I claim is:

1. An ore smelting furnace comprising an ore` chamber having an inclined bottom for receiving and sustaining a body of ore, a combustion chamber at the bottom of said 'ore receiving chamber, a crucible 'below and communicating with said combustion chamber to receive the'melted ore as it runs down the inclined bottom of the ore receiving chamber, burner means yfor directing hot products of combustion through said combustion chamber and over the crucible and into thesaid ore receiving chamber, a stack for carrying oil? the products of combustion from the top 'of said ore receiving chamber, and means for supplying oil together with air to the lower part of said crucible.

2. In an ore smelting furnace, an ore receiving chamber having an inclined bottom for sustaining a body of ore, said ore receiving chamber increasing in width upwardly from its lowerl end and downwardly from kits upper end to an intermediate portion ofgreatest Width, to aid in sustaining the ore in position and to maintain a large body of ore in position forfthe melting operset my hand at Los Angeles, California,

this 26th day of October, 1912.

ELFEGO RIVEROLLl In presence of- ARTHUR P. KNIGHr, F. A. CRANDALL, 

